Neighbor accused of killing elderly Zeeland woman

A 56-year-old man was arrested Wednesday morning in connection with the death of an elderly woman. Both the man and the victim, 78, are from the small village Oostkapelle, Zeeland, and were residing in the same apartment complex.

Police said the man is suspected of her murder. “The criminal investigation department is investigating the matter further. Among other things, the suspect’s home is being searched today,” police said on Wednesday. Local media reported that police covered up the windows of the suspect’s apartment that morning, and that a forensic evidence team’s van was at the scene.

The woman’s name was not released. The victim was found seriously injured in her Veldzigt home on Friday afternoon at about 4 p.m. She died at the scene after paramedics tried to save her. The cause of death was not revealed.

Investigators collecting evidence at the apartment building were also tasked with analyzing the contents of the building’s waste which was kept in an underground garbage container.

A suspected motive was not disclosed by authorities.